All of his music up until Oops! I Did It Again were classified as IDM (Intelligent dance music) and had very little vocals or lyrics for the most part. However, Kidwell was not content to stay behind the laptop while on tour, and quickly and openly aspired to become "#1 Entertainer". He started to hone freestyling skills and performing new songs. In 2002, he won a coveted tour spot opening for the East Coast leg of the Death and Dismemberment tour with Death Cab for Cutie and old friends from Washington, DC The Dismemberment Plan. Later that year, Tall, Dark, and Handcuffed, his first album with full vocals, was released.
2003 was a pivotal year for Kidwell - after spending his entire life living in or around Baltimore, he packed up and drove out to Oakland, California. Car malfunctions and a week stranded in the western US became the inspiration for his second album of that year, Maryland Mansions, an album about suicide which pushed the motifs of his previous album Being Ridden further and was modelled somewhat on the Nine Inch Nails EP Broken. Two music videos for Maryland Mansions were released early in 2004, and Kidwell moved again, to Chicago a few months later.
Shortly thereafter, he married Roby Newton (from the band Milemarker), and reorganized Cex as a three-piece: Kidwell, Newton, and Cale Parks (from the bands Joan of Arc and Aloha). This configuration released an EP, Know Doubt, in 2005 on a Chicago label called Record Label. The next Cex album is titled Actual Fucking and will be released July 4th, 2006. The album is heavy on vocals and will be released by Seattle label Automation Records.
Take Pills
Cex Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll have to take them
I might break if I don't shake less
Empty hands, a fire is left
Cannot quite fight with their own strength
I'm so tired, I'm torn up
It's over now
You can make me normal
Your eyes are broken
You must lose them
Take the pills
Kill the delusions
You can see it's time to quit
So swallow while you can be fixed
I haven't shaken in what feels like forever
I have let go of all my old obsessions
I am healthy, I am better
There's no more songs
So when I'm dead and gone
I know it won't me the new me they remember
But I don't need my eyes to see
My eyes have only lied to me
Recognize the time for quitting
And your vision will outlive them all
Your eyes are broken
You must lose them
Take the pills
Kill the delusions
You can see it's time to quit
So swallow while you can be fixed
The lyrics to "Take Pills" by Cex address the issue of mental illness and the societal pressure to conform to "normalcy" through medication. The first stanza conveys a sense of hopelessness and exhaustion in the face of this struggle, as the singer acknowledges that they may have to ultimately rely on pills to function. The line "you can make me normal" implies that being different or struggling with mental health challenges is viewed as abnormal by society.
The chorus encourages the listener to "lose" their eyes, or their distorted perception of reality, through taking pills and "killing" their delusions. The second verse suggests that doing so can lead to improvement and a sense of release from past obsessions. The final lines, "recognize the time for quitting / and your vision will outlive them all," suggest that making the choice to take medication and confront mental illness head-on can lead to a stronger sense of self and a more enduring legacy.
Overall, "Take Pills" is a poignant commentary on the difficulties and pressures faced by those struggling with mental health issues, as well as an acknowledgement of the strength and perseverance required to confront them.
Line by Line Meaning
Eventually
At some point in time
I'll have to take them
I'll need to ingest medication
I might break if I don't shake less
It's possible I'll be damaged if I don't suppress my tremors
Empty hands, a fire is left
Although I have no possessions, I have passion
Cannot quite fight with their own strength
Unable to contend using their own abilities
I'm so tired, I'm torn up
I'm exhausted, I'm in pain
It's over now
It's finished
You can make me normal
You can restore me to a typical state
Your eyes are broken
Your perception is distorted
You must lose them
You must surrender them
Take the pills
Swallow the medicine
Kill the delusions
Extinguish the illusions
You can see it's time to quit
You can observe that it's a proper moment to stop
So swallow while you can be fixed
Ingest the pills now, while you can still recover
I haven't shaken in what feels like forever
I haven't experienced tremors in a long time
I have let go of all my old obsessions
I have relinquished my past preoccupations
I am healthy, I am better
I am in good health, I am improved
There's no more songs
There are no additional tunes
So when I'm dead and gone
Thus, when I'm deceased
I know it won't me the new me they remember
They won't recall the new version of me
But I don't need my eyes to see
My eyes aren't necessary for me to perceive
My eyes have only lied to me
My vision has solely misled me
Recognize the time for quitting
Acknowledge the appropriate moment to stop
And your vision will outlive them all
Your perception will exceed all others
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MirraReflex
I can't get enough cex.
Talker Fields
classic tune and vid. i remember watching this on Jake Lodwik's "blumpy" site before YouTube was a thing. still in my head to this day.
Mental Self Mutilation
Listen to or look up the lyrics; the lyrics are the best part of the song.. Personally, I like the simple sluggish melody because it sounds like something most normal people could come up with, like me or somebody else who has ever had to Take Pills.
Lewis Barrett
MagnitudePerson, Cex has loads of influences from Trent Reznor to the Warp roster to Beck This is one of his songs where he uses his folk influences.
Mental Self Mutilation
So nobody's gonna talk about the lyrics in this song? When I was a teen I made a playlist of songs about being overmedicated or taking mood altering drugs and this was on it.
Roq999
Your brain likes patterns, and music is creating patterns with sound. Some people can recognize more complex patterns, like in IDM and cliqhop. When someone says a song has a "catchy" beat, it means the patterns are very easy to understand. Thats why the most popular music is usually pretty simple.
Comrade Alek
recently found out Zach Hill did the drums on this. Figured I'd share that.
Voodoobasement
wait, really?
Comrade Alek
@Voodoobasement yup. You can see it on Cex's Bandcamp.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMpenis
i think cex has a few ablums out that are IDM and his Role Models album is defiantly Glitch, IDM